Villainy - Deviant
A Deviant is one whose tastes, interests, and desires place him or her well outside the realm of social acceptability; as such, a Deviant is often a villain who is best thought of as someone who is not, intentionally, villainous - in many classic works, such men and women do not actively set out to oppose good and spread suffering; they merely have tastes and desires that are dramatically different from what is socially acceptable in any normal society, and often include urges that would utterly alienate anyone from any culture. Interestingly, this works both ways - a Viera working for DC who turns out to be kind-hearted and gentle-natured is just as much of an outcast as a human in civilized lands who espouses cannibalism. This is thus the rare example of a villain who is defined by a society, rather than himself. Of course, it needn't always be this way, but we'll get to that in due time. The Deviant villain is a much more reactive villain in terms of plot elements. In many stories, the Deviant acts as an adversary for the protagonists to learn about, track down, and defeat. The Deviant opposes the protagonists typically more often out of defense than out of actual maliciousness (although certain Deviants will make the protagonists the subject of their cruel attentions). This is a primal villain; one more interested in his own agenda without regard for how it affects others. These pursuits will often come to the attentions of the protagonists long before the protagonists come to the villain's attention. The Deviant, typically, is not particularly charismatic, and most do not have followers, minions, or henchmen. Groups of like-minded Deviants may, however, form organizations that operate in secret behind organized society. These secret societies share each other's tastes and help one another pursue them. They can offer comfort, support, and aid to their fellow Deviants, making an individual Deviant far more dangerous than an individual of his type would otherwise indicate. When not fleshed out, and used as a simple villain, the Deviant offers a GM the potential to make a truly repugnant figure. These villains often fill the need for when a GM is looking for a villain to repulse or horrify the protagonists. However, an overly simplified Deviant is little more than a collection of statistics and disgusting habits. Careful construction of a Deviant will have the protagonists tripping over one another for the opportunity to destroy him. Note that the more complex the Deviant is, the greater the opportunity for exploration of serious themes in a story. In a well-run plot, the Deviant can pose serious ethical problems to the protagonists. After all, where does one draw the line between the individual and the needs of society? In Fontraile, with many countries of hugely varied politics and beliefs, what is acceptable in one country may be reprehensible in another. The key, of course, is that a Deviant will always deviate from whatever society he is currently in. One important aspect of Deviants is a social structure to define their Deviancy. Without a society to stigmatize their actions, they simply are not villains. A Necromancer who comes to De Midian, for example, where Necromancy is an accepted practice, ceases to be a villain. In order to be villainous, Deviants must operate within society whilst taking pains to conceal their activities. Most mantain "cover" identities and engage in their deviancy as secretly as possible. Most Deviants are aware of the force of law, which can be brought to bear against them if discovered. The four subtypes of Deviant villain are Detached, Dark Loremaster, Human Monster, and Slaver. Deviant Subtypes Detached Dark Loremaster Human Monster Slaver Back to Villain Archetypes.